Selected major losses since 2000

The attack on the Center in New York on 11 September 2001 led to a fundamental change in the perception of terrorist attacks. With thousands of people killed and the symbolic collapse of the two towers at the heart of the Western world – it was an entirely new dimension of threat. This was also the case for the insurance industry, whose risk models had never covered an event of this kind before. 9/11 remains one of the costliest loss complexes ever. Virtually all lines of insurance were affected, with insured losses totalling US$ 40bn. It took more than ten years to process the claims, even though the exceptional political situation in the USA meant that many liability claims were settled through government programmes. In particular, compensation for surviving dependants came almost exclusively from the Victim Compensation Fund administered by Ken Feinberg.
Ina Ebert, Leading Expert, Global Clients/North America

The “Edificio Windsor Fire”, Madrid 2005: The fire started on the 21st floor, spreading quickly throughout the entire building. After approximately 18 hours of firefighting, the 32-storey building was totally destroyed. Ironically, weak links in the building’s fire protection were being rectified in a refurbishment project at the time of the fire. Confusion regarding the firefighting strategy and the unsuccessful efforts of the fire brigade were the reasons for the catastrophic outcome. In insurance terms, another issue was the wide safety area set up around the building – an impediment to commercial activities, which increased the claims costs. It was the largest fire that Spain had ever witnessed and the first involving a skyscraper: a tragic reminder of the importance of building with fire-resistant materials. Despite the massive loss,  there were at least two upsides: the demolition process was exemplary, concluded in less than six months, and collaboration between Munich Re and its clients was highly effective.
Andrés Ruiz Feger, Senior Lawyer Claims, Madrid

On 11 December 2005, what was possibly the largest peacetime explosion ever to occur in Europe (2.4 on the Richter scale) took place at the Buncefield oil depot in England. Although the fire was contained mainly on site and there was no loss of life, the explosion caused tremendous damage. Overall losses came to approximately £1bn. On the property insurance side, it was mainly repair costs and consequential business interruption losses that had to be indemnified. Casualtywise, the obvious subrogation targets were the joint venture operators of the depot. On 20 March 2009, the High Court finally confirmed liability for claims of around £700m. In total 3,545 claims had to be settled.
Rainer Hanselmann, Head of Casualty Claims Management (GC/NA & APAC)

On 11 March 2011, the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan shook the northeast of the country. The Mw 9.0 earthquake was the world’s fourth-strongest in the last 100 years and triggered a 10-metre high tsunami, which led to the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. In contrast to the almost complete destruction in tsunami-affected areas, losses in other areas hit by the earthquake were moderate. Although Tokyo’s skyscrapers swayed strongly for several minutes, there was no significant damage there. The earthquake claimed more than 15,800 lives, almost 6,000 were injured and over 3,400 remain unaccounted for. While the economic loss totalled more than US$ 200bn, insured losses were in the region of US$ 35bn to US$ 40bn.
Andreas Langer, Manager Claims

On 1 May 2016, a wildfire started southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, sweeping through the community and forcing the largest wildfire evacuation in the Canadian province’s history. It destroyed more than 2,400 buildings and spread across northern Alberta, threatening the Athabasca oil-sands operations before making its way towards the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan. This natural catastrophe is one of the costliest to have ever hit Canada, with insured losses of approximately Can$ 4bn.
Joachim Pawellek, Manager Claims